Poison
by Cheyennes
Summary: Johnny returns to the fold after Dutch escapes from an attempt to turn her Hullen. Set early in Season 3.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This continues to be one of my favorite TV shows. While I was thrilled to hear that it was renewed for two more seasons, there is just too much time between now and the next season. In the interim my mind has been churning out stories to fill the time. Earlier in the season I had expected that we would have seen something like this on the show. The Killjoys writers continue to surprise me.

Johnny played the message again still trying to absorb the information it contained.

"Johnny, I know that you are off dealing with issues of your own. I'm sorry to add to your problems. I could tell you the long story but the short version is that Dutch is hurt. I think you should come back as soon as you are able. I've sent you our coordinates. Hope to see you soon."

Johnny looked at the coordinates again. Lucy was far from home and it would take him a few days to reach them. He immediately input the coordinates and got the ship underway. No matter his own personal turmoil he would put it all aside. Dutch needed him and she would always have dibs.

The days passed incredibly slowly and when Johnny was finally within direct communications range he contacted Lucy. D'avin's face filled the screen.

"John, it's good to see you."

"You too. How is she?"

"A little better. We moved her back to Lucy today. She woke up for a few minutes during the process."

"What actually happened, D'av? Is she going to be okay?"

"We thought we had Aneela but it turned out to be a trap. Dutch was snatched and it took me two days to locate her. They tried to convert her to Hullen but it went badly. Apparently it acted like a poison to her system. She managed to escape on her own but lost conciousness once she was out of the building they were holding her in. We only found her when we did because her tracking beacon started working once she was outside. I found her under a bush where she had taken shelter. She needed a doctor fast and we found one willing to treat her."

"You said she woke up today?"

"Yes, she did. She's been spending most of her time sleeping. Apparently the reaction she experienced started destroying her blood cells and some of her tissues. The staff said it had to have been incredibly painful. It'll be a while before she is back to normal. Her boyd needs to repair itself and that won't happen overnight."

"But she'll be okay?"

"We were told that she should be okay. But honestly, John, who really knows? No one has seen this crap before. Khlyen would have been the one best suited to treat her, and without his knowledge, the doctors could only do their best to treat her symptoms."

"What did Turin say?"

"Basically that warmongering was on hold for the time being and to use the break to focus on helping her get better. He may not really like Dutch but he knows full well that we need her for this war."

"Trust me D'av. He should consider himself lucky that he isn't the one trying to help her. You know how she can be."

Johnny flashed back to the couple of times she had been sick. She absolutely refused to stop running warrants. She just pushed and pushed until the illness caved under the pressure. With Dutch it was always mind over matter.

"This time will be different, Johnny. I don't know that she'll be able to bounce right back. When she woke up today she seemed. . . confused. Honestly with the reaction she experienced to the Hullen process, she should have died."

The image moved and instead of D'av's face he was looking at Dutch. Or what he could see of her since most of her was covered in a blanket.

"What's wrong with her arm?"

"The dark color is from the reaction in her blood. You can basically see the veins under her skin. It is a lot better than it was originally. As the chemical components of the Green leave her system if should improve. Initially there was some thought given to a total blood volume exchange transfusion but the doctors decided it was too risky. We're going to have to wait it out while her body processes the crap."

Johnny hated knowing that she had been hurt. She had needed someone to help her and he hadn't been there. His words echoed his thoughts.

"I should have been there."

"I feel the same way John but it was a solo mission. Even if you had been here on Lucy you wouldn't have gone to the surface with her. You just would have had the opportunity to see her sooner. Honestly, I wouldn't have brought her back to the ship yet but the Monk seems like a pretty good nurse. He was doing a lot of her care there and has been doing the same here."

"You know he has a name."

"Yes, I know, but Monk sounds so much better than Alvis," D'av said with a chuckle.

"It would make Dutch happier if you would use his name but that can be a conversation for another time. I'll be there in less than a day. Please let me know if anything changes."

"You'll be my first call."

The call disconnnected and Johnny took himself to bed to try and get some sleep. He wanted to be rested when he saw her. He did manage to catch a few hours of restful sleep, between the tossing and turning, before he received notice that Lucy was a short distance away. Grabbed a quick shower he prepared for a long overdue reunion. Visions of the first time they met, their many missions together, and their often humerous training sessions flashed through his mind. He was grateful that he had chosen her ship to try and steal all those years ago. It didn't take long for him to pack his belongings in a bag, connect to the airwalk, and walk on board. His first action was to take a deep breath of the air. He was home.

"Welcome back, John."

"Did you miss me Lucy?"

"Of course."

"I missed you too. I'd like you to take over guidance of the other ship and mirror her flight pattern to ours."

"I can do that John. D'avin asked me to inform you that Dutch is in the lounge. They moved her bed there so they could keep an eye on her."

"How is she?"

"I haven't been able to talk to her. She's been sleeping since shortly after her arrival but her vital signs are mostly stable."

"Mostly?"

"Occasionally her heart rate spikes to dangerous levels."

"Cause?"

"D'avin says trauma."

"What kind of trauma?"

"The kind that causes nightmares."

Great. Like Dutch didn't have enough fodder for nightmares already. The fact that she wasn't insane from the way Khlyen raised her spoke to her fortititude.

He wandered down the hall to the lounge and found D'avin sleeping in the chair and Alvis on the floor. Dutch's bed dominated the room and she was curled up in the center. Johnny quietly put his bag down and crouched in front of her. In the light he could clearly see black tracings everywhere under her skin. It was more noticeable in person than on the video screen and it was instantly apparent the effects went thoughout her circulatory system.

"Johnny," D'avin said from the chair behind him.

He stood and moved away so as to not disturb Dutch's sleep.

"How is she?"

"The same. She wakes up for a short period of time once or twice a day. She won't admit it to me but I can tell she is hurting. She is. . . . I guess softer is the right word. . . around Alvis and he confirmed that she admitted to some discomfort."

Johnny knew her well enough to know if she was admitting to any level of pain it was pretty severe.

"How is that being treated?"

"There is some pain medication in the continuous infusion she is receiving. I think that is contributing to the amount of time she is sleeping. Hoestly, knowing that she is still in pain, I'd prefer she stay asleep. I want her to be comfortable."

"Me too."

"We left your room the same but I'll warn you that Dutch as been sleeping in your bed. She also has been seen reading your comics so things might not be exactly as you left them."

Johnny felt a warm sensation spread through his chest. If there was one thing he would never doubt, it was that he and Dutch had a special connection. He loved her. Not the traditional husband and wife relationship but much deeper than a typical brother and sister relationship. Something unique to them. He would lay down his life for her and he knew the reverse was true. This current situation made him have to face something he hoped he would never experience. A life without her in it.

He grabbed his bag, preparing to leave the lounge to drop it in his room, when a soft voice stopped him in his tracks,

"Johnny?"

He quickly walked back and sat on the floor next to her bed.

"Hi, partner."

"You're back?"

"Couldn't keep me away. Apparently you and D'av can't function without me," he said with a smile.

"I missed you," she said softly as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I missed you too."

Johnny was fairly certain she hadn't heard his reply. He turned back to his brother.

"D'av, why don't you get some sleep in your own bed. If you'll take my bag to my room, I'll watch over her. I slept before I got here."

"I'll take you up on that offer. Somehow this chair seems so comfortable until you have to stay in it for a long period of time."

"No worries. If Alvis wakes up I'll offer it to him."

"I'm awake," Alvis' voice drifted up from his pallet on the floor, "and I'll be more than happy to take you up on the offer of that chair."

Johnny watched as Alvis settled in and then asked him the questions weighing heavily on his mind.

"How do you think she is doing?"

"I think she's in a lot of pain. Normally I would expect that she could push through the pain but the fatigue seems to be overwhelming her. Right now I don't think she could defend herself from any type of attack."

"D'av mentioned that she was having nightmares?"

"I think that's what's going on but she hasn't admitted to any such thing. She'll jerk awake and cry out your name or my name. She even called out to Khlyen once and she was clearly afraid of something."

"Afraid for him?"

"Actually I think she was calling out to him for help."

They both knew that wasn't good. She wouldn't call out to Khlyen for help unless it was her last possible option. She could never be certain that he would act in her best interests.

"Did the doctor give you an idea of recovery time?"

Alvis shrugged, "Your guess would be as good as his. Basically he was just treating symptoms as they occurred. He couldn't even confirm that she would fully recover."

"What?! D'av said she should be fine."

"Your brother didn't lie to you. He heard what he needed to hear."

"But the doctor did let you bring her here? You didn't take her out against medical advice?"

"Yes, he was fine with us bringing her back here. He didn't have any further treatments to offer her. She isn't getting worse. We just don't know how much better she'll get."

Johnny couldn't believe it. Dutch was larger than life in his mind. The girl that could be knocked down but always snapped back up regardless of what life threw at her. But looking at her now he had to admit she didn't look like she would be bouncing back anytime soon. He rested his chin against her mattress and regretted the time he had been away even more.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This story was a little too long to publish in one chapter so this is the other half of the story. Hope you enjoy it.

A few hours passed in comfortable silence before he saw tears beading on her eyelashes before slowly starting to trickle down her face. He gently touched her shoulder but she recoiled.

"Dutch?"

No response.

"Yalena, wake up."

"No more," she whispered.

Lucy's voice echoed in the small area, "Johnny, Dutch's heart rate is starting to drop dangerously low."

"Low? Not high?"

"Her heart rate has been trending down for the last 30 minutes but it has just dropped into the dangerous range."

"We need to wake her up," Alvis' voice came from behind him.

Johnny was pulled to his feet and Alvis motioned for him to take the chair while he scooped Dutch up into his arms, blankets and all.

Seconds later John found himself the recipient of a flailing Dutch. It was like she couldn't coordinate the motion of her limbs into a coordinated strike.

"Stop!" she yelled as she squirmed.

Both Johnny and Alvis could hear footsteps running towards them from D'avin's room.

"You're okay, Dutch. Everything's okay," Johnny soothed.

He wasn't sure if he was telling her or trying to convince himself.

"It hurts," she gasped.

"What hurts, Dutch?" D'avin asked as he arrived in the room in time to hear her response.

"Everything. Everything hurts. It's like acid in my veins."

Johnny watched as Alvis tinkered with the continuous infusion. Dutch's movements began to slow and he wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on her face.

"How is she, Luce?"

"Her heart rate is at the high level of normal."

"It won't stay within normal limits if I keep having to increase the pain medication and musle relaxers," Alvis informed them, "She's already at the maximum for someone her weight."

D'avin rubbed his hand through his short hair, "What the hells happened, Johnny?"

"Her heart rate starting dropping. It looked like a nightmare but her reaction was different then what Lucy said had happened in the past."

"Memory. It was a memory not a nightmare," she whispered.

John tried to reposition himself so he could look at her face but it was burrowed against his chest. He felt the effort it took her just to pull her head up. Tiny shivers vibrated through her body to his as she tried to pull away and sit upright.

"Where are you going, hotshot?" D'av inquired.

"Up. I need to move around."

Alvis crouched down so she could see his face.

"You can't walk around yet, Dutch. You're on muscle relaxers and pain medications. You won't be steady on your feet."

"You need to turn them off," she instructed.

"I can't do that to you. You aren't ready yet."

John felt her stop struggling to stay upright as she sank back against his chest again.

"I need to get off the medications. We don't have time to mess around."

Alvis brushed her hair away from her forehead, "We have time. Enough time to get you better before the war gets started. Even you can only take so much. You'd be saying the same if it was any of us in your position."

"But it . . .isn't. ."

She never finished the sentence and Alvis stood looking satisfied.

"She's asleep again. But unfortunately for all of us she's also right about the medications but for different reasons. They will slow her heart rate at these high levels and if keeping it in the safe range is going to be a problem, we need to get her off of them."

"Alvis, you heard her screaming in the medical suite before the doctor got her pain managed. Do you really want to see her like that again?!" D'avin demanded.

"No, I never want to see her like that again, but I don't want to see her dead either. I think we should slowly start to wean the muscle relaxer over the next hours and go from there. Dutch's normal pain tolerance is unbelieveably high. But these types of medications interfere with the way her brain processes stimuli making it more difficult to deal with the pain. She may actually do better with less medication. At the very least she'll be more alert."

John certainly didn't want to see her suffer but he didn't want to lose her to complications from the medication protocol either. He'd known her longer than anyone else in the room and felt he should make the decision.

"We should give it a try, D'av. If her condition deteriorates we can always increase the doseage again."

D'av looked at her curled up in Johnny's lap and thought again about how close they had been to losing her. He had so much he wanted to say to her.

Alvis' voice interrupted his musings, "She's bleeding. Grab me a wet cloth."

D'ave handed one to him and watched as Alvis bent toward her. As he pulled away they all saw the black substance that he had wiped from her nose.

"What is that?" Johnny demanded quietly as he stood with her in his arms.

"I would assume the substance that is running through her veins," Alvis responded in his usual calm manner.

Johnny wasn't feeling at all calm at the moment.

"Has this happened before?"

Both of the other men shook their heads but the reality was they didn't know what to expect with her recovery. As long as she had decent vital signs they needed to roll with the punches and they told him so. He needed to look at her so he settled her back onto the bed on her side and covered her back up to keep her warm. Returning to the chair he focused his full attention on her. The other two men exchanged concerned looks before leaving the two of them alone. They both knew how close Johnny and Dutch were and how hard this had to be on top of recently losing Pawter.

Johnny had Lucy dim the lights and requested she notify him of even minor vital sign changes. He thought back to their adventures together. He was so lucky to have found her when he did. Not just for his own sake but hers as well. She had been in a bad place. He jerked up realizing that he had drifted off thinking of their history. Looking over he was shocked to see that more of the black goo had drained from her mouth, ears, and nose, and had soaked into the blanket.

"Lights full," he commanded.

In the bright light it looked even worse.

"Lucy, is Dutch okay?"

"Yes, John. Her vitals have been stable."

He found a fresh cloth that he ran under some warm water before beginning to clean off her face. After a quick rinse he returned to clean around her ear again when her hand shot out and grasped his wrist.

"Can't a women get some rest? What are you doing?"

She opened her eyes and locked her gaze with his. She looked more alert and oriented than he had seen since his return.

"Just taking care of you."

She pulled his wrist down to look at the cloth.

"Well that isn't attractive."

"I've seen worse Dutch."

"Help me up."

"Are you sure?"

"I want to get up Johnny."

He maneuvered her into a seated position and was pleased to see she was able to hold the posture on her own. The black lines under her skin had also lightened considerably and resembled a pale gray color.

"How do you feel, Dutch?"

"Better. I've missed you."

"I missed you more."

D'avin and Alvis were surprised to see Johnny and Dutch embracing as they returned to the lounge.

"Look who's up. How do you feel Dutch? And I'm asking not how you want to feel but how you actually feel," Alvis said.

"As I told Johnny, I feel better. There is still discomfort but nothing like what I had before and I'm finally starting to think clearly again. Clear enough for me to make sense of what I was seeing in my head. I know where Aneela is and we are going to end this."

D'avin knew that look in her eye. It spoke of immediate action.

"We're not ending anything today. When we can't see your veins through your skin then we can talk about mounting an attack."

Dutch looked down at her arms and gave a little shiver at the thought of the poison running through her veins. She didn't know why she hadn't turned Hullen but she would take the pain she had experienced over that type of slavery any day of the week.

"When will this all be gone?" she asked while waving her one arm in their general direction.

"Alvis and I asked the same question before we brought you back to Lucy. The reality is that no one really knows but you are already looking better. Much better even in the short time since Johnny has been back."

Dutch locked eyes with her recently returned partner, "Are you staying, Johnny?"

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away. We'll end this together."


End file.
